juice12292

so, im looking in a 1-2k dollar range for a car, im mechanically inclined so if its a p.o.s. it doesnt bother me. that being said what is the best small car, thats fuel efficient, but is also decently fast and you can do a decent amount of aftermarket stuff to them? im trying to stay domestic but im flexible. i was thinking of maybe getting a chevy cavalier z24 for 1500, its in good shape, but i dont know how fast it is and i dont want something with a 0-60 of 12 seconds. my jeeps pretty fast and its all stock so something as fast would be nice.

Trev1006

You won't beat a Honda accord or civic for longevity and reliability. Im a made in the USA all the way guy, but you just cant kill those old Hondas.

mithuth

^ agreed. I was going to say 88-91 Honda, CRX, Civic Hatch or Sedan, or if you want an AWD parts hauler, look for a Wagovan.

juice12292

ive heard hondas are expensive to fix though, and i live paycheck to paycheck as it is. and i am a fan of civics but its hard to find old ones for sale around my area.

Trev1006

I had a civic for a lil bit and completely ran it out of oil and it diddnt die. My buddy also got drunk and followed me in my MJ through a field and had we on the rev limiter the entire time and it still ran good!

Trev1006

Once you buy it they basically dont break. Just do normal maint. For 2k around here you can get a nice civic.

juice12292

alright, thanks for the info.

Trev1006

Nothing against cavaliers, ive seen em last too, just not like the japs

Mr.goodtime

my buddy had a ford escort zx2 that was quick and he beat the tar out of that car and it never broke, he even auto crossed it for a while

kps

first generation Plymouth, Dodge Neons, relatively cheap, $500 to $1,000 cars, decent mileage, & lots of goodies available. can be made quite fast. I been into & out of the scene for years, owned quite a few different ones, & have owned both SOHC & DOHC versions. still have 2 & a parts car, but dont drive them presently, got tired of them.

the early 95 models are different, the ones made in "1994", however the regular 95, still is different from the 96 to 99. earlier 95s have different PVC systems, valve covers, & different bearing tang locations when you build the engine, plus the earlier cars were 4 lug, the later were 5 lug wheels, different brakes, diffent steering wheel, the 96 to 99 uses a "clutch pack" the 95 uses a normal clutch. the 96-99 has a flexplate like automatic cars, but the clutch pack bolts to it same as a torque converter. once you get through the learning curve, they can be quite fun, & a depending on gearing you could get low 30mpg to upper 30mpg the tall gear pushes 40mpg, & thats stock.the lower gear will get 32 or so mpg.

xj wheeler

Early 70s vw beetle. Parts are incredibly cheap, can be made to go as fast as you want, EASY to work on, plentiful, 30 mpg stock, and kool. Buy in price is cheaper than the earlier ones and later ('75+) have expensive fuel injection. Just throwin it out there.

kps

parts have gone up considerably in last few years, & cheap cars to me dont seem cheap anymore. once they were plentiful, but now around these parts, if it is a hulk ready for scrapyard, people want $500, & it will need floors, heater channels, plus engine & interior & various other items.

I dont mean to downplay, but I been into & out of the aircooled VW scene for 30 years, & have maybe 6 old beetles, & 8 busses, a type 3 fastback, & 1 vanagon.

yes they can be made extremely fast, & very fun, but for the cheap, not like they used to be, lots of other vehicles can be done alot cheaper. plus VWs are shall we say different, the engines are unique, easy to work on, but pretty much different from everything else.

xj wheeler

For sure different but that's what make them great.

Yes the parts have gone up but i still find them cheaper than most other cars to fix. They're so basic that instead of replacing some computer or complicated part it would be a basic part that is easier and cheaper to manufacture.

Off topic but good to see an air-cooled fan here and one that's had a type 3. I have (so far) a '74 beetle and a '72 squareback (man is that one hard to find parts for).

zr2toxj

I had a 2000 Z24 as a DD beater. It did well, except it was a 5 speed and I had problems with bearings in the Getrag trans. I replaced some of them, ran it for many miles, then it seized up on the way home one night.

Got good mileage and ran well, but I'd stay away from the standard transmissions.

lookin2wheel

1984 to 1987 Toyota Corolla SR-5 or GTS, chassis code AE86. I had 3 and loved them. Stupid easy to work on, 2 door coupe, rear wheel drive. The SR5s were 1.6L SOHC 8 valve carbbed motors, could be had with a 5 speed or auto, the GTS was a 1.6L DOHC 16v EFI motor 5 speed only. Most of the GTS' had LSD rear ends, all had 4 wheel disc brakes, and pretty quick cars. Mine would smoke the tires through 3rd gear and would run away from Golf GTIs and Miatas on twisty mountain roads. The first gen MR-2s have the same motors. Very reliable cars and fun as hell to drive. Can be had on the cheap too. But they are getting hard to find.